Four striking billboards, crowded in among beer and cosmetic surgery ads along two South Florida highways, contain one sentence starkly lettered in white on a black background: "Thank you for officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide - April 24, 1915. " It's a bold move to bring public attention to an almost century-old tragedy that Armenian Americans say takes a back seat to other large-scale human rights violations: the killing of 1.5 million of their ancestors during World War I in what is now Turkey.

Public backlash over allowing billboards on public land convinced the South Florida Water Management District Tuesday to drop its controversial money-making venture. The district, which handles flood control and leads Everglades restoration, in December drew the ire of environmental groups and billboard opponents when it agreed to allow large electronic signs to spread to publicly-owned land throughout South Florida. The billboard move, encouraged by the Florida Legislature, was billed as a way to raise money by allowing advertisements positioned on district land beside roads, canals and other high-traffic areas.

Public backlash over allowing billboards on public land persuaded the South Florida Water Management District on Tuesday to drop its controversial money-making venture. The district, which handles flood control and leads Everglades restoration, in December drew the ire of environmental groups and billboard opponents when it agreed to allow large electronic signs to spread to publicly-owned land throughout South Florida. The billboard move, encouraged by the Florida Legislature, was billed as a way to raise money by allowing advertisements positioned on district land beside roads, canals and other high-traffic areas.

The South Florida Water Management District is getting into the billboard business, opening publicly owned land to towering digital advertisements. The agency that handles flood control and Everglades restoration owns more than 1 million acres from Orlando to the Keys, some of it along Interstate 95, Florida's Turnpike and other high-traffic areas coveted by advertisers. The district's board Thursday agreed to team with two advertising companies to erect the tall, bright signs with rotating images in the hopes of potentially raising millions to help cover agency costs.